Systems and methods for determining subscription data

ABSTRACT

A media guidance application is provided by which users can view program listings associated with programming that the user may access using other user equipment devices. The media guidance application, implemented on, for example, a remote system, may determine through communications with television equipment whether or not the television equipment is authorized to provide a particular package of television programming to be viewed by the user. For example, an online program guide application may determine whether or not television equipment allows a user to view particular channels and, based on that determination, proceed to determine what packages of programming the user subscribes to. A customized program guide may then be displayed based on what programming the user subscribes to on various systems.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/788,726 filed on Apr. 20, 2007, all of which is hereby incorporatedby reference herein in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to interactive media guidance applications, andmore particularly, to interactive media guidance applications that canconnect to and access data from a multitude of user devices.

A number of media delivery systems are currently used to provideprograms and program information to users. (As referenced herein, theterms “program,” “programs,” and “programming” include any and all typesof media that a media guidance application may access, such as broadcastprograms, recorded programs, movies, video clips, Videos On Demand(VOD), pay-per-view (PPV) movies, music videos, satellite radiobroadcasts, HD radio broadcasts, data advertisements and promotionalinformation.)

In addition to traditional television equipment (e.g., television,headend system, cable set-top box, etc.), a number of recent innovationsnow allow mobile equipment (e.g., cellular telephones, cellular networkequipment, etc.) and online equipment (e.g., computers, Internetservers, etc.) to deliver programs and program information to users. Inaddition, commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/332,244,filed Jun. 11, 1999 teaches, among other things, using online equipmentto watch and record television programs and is hereby incorporatedherein in its entirety. A number of technical problems, however, followin the wake of these innovations.

Today, users can personalize online program guidance applications byentering personal information, such as zip code, cable provider, etc. Inaddition, online program guidance applications have been recentlyimplemented that are linked to television equipment in the user's home(e.g., a TiVo box). When the user is away from home, the user can usethe online program guidance application to select a program forrecording by the user's in-home television equipment. In response to theuser selection, the program is recorded by the user's televisionequipment—only, however, if the user's television equipment isauthorized to grant the user access to the selected program.

Programming is often subdivided into packages of programming, which areprovided to users on a subscription basis. For example, a basicbroadcast television package may only include local channels and apremium broadcast television package may include the basic package aswell as one or more premium package channel tiers (e.g., NFL SundayTicket, HBO, Showtime, etc.). NFL Sunday Ticket is a service mark ownedby the National Football League, HBO is a trademark owned by Home BoxOffice, Inc. and Showtime is a trademark owned by Showtime Networks,Inc. If the user, for example, wants to record a program that is onlyavailable on a premium channel, but the user does not subscribe to thepremium package of programming that includes that channel, then thatprogram will not be recorded. Previously known systems provide nowarning when the user uses an online program guide to select a programfor recording that the user does not have access to.

Systems, methods and computer readable media are desired that allow amedia guidance application, implemented on a first system, to determinewhat programming the user has access to on one or more other systems. Italso would be desirable to have systems, methods and computer readablemedia, which may be implemented remotely from the user's televisionequipment (such as online and mobile program guide systems), that candetermine and inform the user whether or not the user's televisionequipment allows the user to access a program or package of programming.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the principles of the present invention, a remotemedia guidance application is provided that may determine whether or notone or more target devices are authorized to provide a particularpackage of programming to be viewed by a user. The remote media guidanceapplication is preferably an interactive media guidance application thatis located remotely and operates independently from a target device. Thetarget device may be, for example, a television set-top box, a mobiletelephone, or a computer. The preferred embodiment of the presentinvention includes means for linking the remote media guidanceapplication to television equipment. An online program guidanceapplication and a mobile program guidance application are two examplesof remote media guidance applications, when the target device istelevision equipment. In other embodiments, the target device may beuser computer equipment and the remote media guidance application may bea television program guidance application or mobile program guidanceapplication.

A target media guidance application may be implemented on the targetdevice. For example, a television program guidance application may beimplemented on user television equipment. The target device and/ortarget media guidance application can provide means for presentingprogramming to the user as well as means for presenting media guidanceto the user. The systems of the present invention may also provide meansfor a user to subscribe to programming, packages of programming, andpremium services.

Means for generating, storing and utilizing subscription data may alsobe utilized by some embodiments of the present invention. Subscriptiondata summarizes which packages of programming and premium services atarget device may be authorized to provide user access to. The remotemedia guidance application may request and receive subscription datafrom, for example, the target device (e.g., television equipment). Theremote media guidance application may also have means for processing andutilizing the subscription data to determine whether or not the targetdevice is authorized to provide a particular package of programming(e.g., television programming) to be viewed by a user.

In some embodiments, subscription data that is used by the target devicecannot be easily transferred to the remote media guidance application.In some of these embodiments, the remote media guidance application mayinclude means for receiving subscription data from, for example, asource device. A source device may be any device that providesprogramming and/or program information to the target device and/orremote media guidance application. In yet other embodiments, the remotemedia guidance application may include means for generating thesubscription data and/or receiving subscription data that is generatedby a target media guidance application (e.g., television programguidance application) in response to a request from the remote mediaguidance application.

Some embodiments of the present invention may include means for usingchannel data to generate the subscription data. Channel data summarizeswhich channels of programming a particular target device allows the userto access. Channel data may be generated automatically or manually. Inthe present invention, means for automatically generating channel datamay include, for example, means for determining what channels areassociated with a package of programming, instructing the target deviceto tune to one or more of the channels associated with the package ofprogramming, tuning to each of those channels, and receiving anindication as to whether or not each of those channels are viewable bythe user. To manually generate channel data, the present invention mayinclude means for prompting the user as to whether or not the user canview one or more channels, and receiving a response to the inquiry fromthe user. The remote media guidance application may then receivesubscription data from the target device. In some embodiments, theremote media guidance application generates the channel data and/or thesubscription data based on inputs it receives from a user, the targetdevice, and/a source device.

Once the present invention determines which packages of programming andpremium services can be accessed by a user using the target device, theremote media guidance application may provide means for generatingprogram guide data. The program guide data may be used to display, forexample, a program guide that includes listings of programs based onwhat the user has access to. The program guide may also include anadvertisement for programming associated with a particular package orpremium service depending on whether or not the user has access to thatpackage or service. In addition, the program guide may omit or indicatethat one or more channels are associated with packages of programmingand premium services that the user cannot access. The present inventionmay also include means for identifying that a fault exists, which iscausing the particular package of programming or premium service to benot assessable.

SUMMARY OF THE FIGURES

The above and other features of the present invention, its nature andvarious advantages will be more apparent upon consideration of thefollowing detailed description, taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 shows an illustrative grid program listings display screen inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows an illustrative video mosaic program listings displayscreen in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 shows an illustrative program guide display screen used toidentify target devices;

FIG. 4 shows and illustrative program guide display screen used togenerate channel data;

FIG. 5 shows an illustrative program guide display screen used inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 shows a generalized embodiment of an illustrative user equipmentdevice in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 shows a generalized embodiment of an illustrative interactivemedia guidance system in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram of an illustrative process that determineswhether or not a system is authorized to provide programming to beaccessed by a user;

FIGS. 9-11 are flow diagrams of illustrative processes that are used toobtain subscription data;

FIGS. 12-13 are flow diagrams of illustrative processes that are used togenerate channel data;

FIG. 14 shows an illustrative embodiment of subscription data structure;

FIG. 15 shows an illustrative embodiment of channel data structure; and

FIG. 16 shows an illustrative embodiment of package data structure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The amount of media available to users in any given media deliverysystem can be substantial. Consequently, many users desire a form ofmedia guidance through an interface that allows users to efficientlynavigate media selections and easily identify media that they maydesire. Applications that provide such guidance are generally referredto herein as media guidance applications.

A remote media guidance application, as referred to herein, is a mediaguidance application that is implemented on a remote device. Remotedevices are discussed further below in connection with FIG. 6. Theremote media guidance application allows users to efficiently navigatemedia selections and identify media that the user may access on at leastone target device. Target devices are discussed further below inconnection with FIG. 6. A media guidance application, referred to hereinas a target media guidance application, may be implemented on the targetdevice. In some embodiments, the target media guidance application maylink to and communicate with the remote media guidance application whichis discussed further below in connection with FIG. 7.

The remote media guidance application may be used to, for example,determine whether or not particular packages of programming and premiumservices can be viewed by a user with various target media systems.Media guidance applications (both remote and target) may take variousforms depending on the media and/or type of system for which theyprovide guidance.

One typical type of media guidance application, which may act as theremote media guidance application and/or the target media guidanceapplication, is a television program guidance application. Televisionprogram guidance applications (sometimes referred to as electronicprogram guides or interactive television program guides) are well-knownguidance applications that, among other things, allow users to navigateamong and locate many types of media content including conventionaltelevision programming (provided via traditional broadcast, cable,satellite, Internet, or other means), as well as pay-per-view programs,on-demand programs (as in video-on-demand (VOD) systems), Internetcontent (e.g., streaming media, downloadable media, Webcasts, etc.), andother types of media or video content. Media guidance applications alsoallow users to navigate among and locate content related to programmingcontent including, for example, video clips, articles, advertisements,chat sessions, games, etc.

With the advent of the Internet, mobile computing, and high-speedwireless networks, users are accessing media on personal computers (PCs)and mobile devices on which they traditionally did not. Mobile devicesas referred to herein include, for example, hand-held computers,personal digital assistants (PDAs), mobile telephones, or other mobiledevices.

Users are sometimes able to navigate among and locate media available tothem, using their television, PC and mobile device. Consequently, mediaguidance is necessary on each of these devices, as well. The mediaguidance applications may be provided as on-line applications (i.e.,provided on a web-site), or as stand-alone applications or clients onhand-held computers, PDAs, mobile telephones, or other mobile devices.As mentioned above, media guidance applications may act as either aremote media guidance application and/or target media guidanceapplication. The various devices and platforms that may implement mediaguidance applications and how these devices and platforms interact witheach other are described in more detail below.

One of the functions of the remote media guidance application is toprovide media listings and media information to users. In someembodiments of the present invention, the remote media guidanceapplication communicates with one or more target devices or applicationsto provide media listings and media information to users about thecontent the user may access using the target devices. FIGS. 1-5 showillustrative display screens that may be used by a remote media guidanceapplication to provide media guidance, and in particular media listings.In addition to media listings, display screens of FIGS. 1 and 2 may alsoinclude, for example, an advertisement for television programming thatmay be associated with a particular premium service or package ofprogramming as well as icons that associate particular program listingswith content that the user may access with one or more target devices.The display screens of FIGS. 1 and 2 may also omit one or more channelsthat are associated with particular programs and/or packages ofprogramming that the user does not subscribe to or cannot otherwiseaccess with a target system.

The display screens shown in FIGS. 1-5 may be presented by any suitabledevice or platform that is remote from the target device. While thedisplays of FIGS. 1-5 are illustrated as full screen displays, they mayalso be fully or partially overlaid over media content being displayed.A user may indicate a desire to access media information by selecting aselectable option provided in a display screen (e.g., a menu option, alistings option, an icon, a hyperlink, etc.) or pressing a dedicatedbutton (e.g., a GUIDE button) on a remote control, remote device (suchas a cellular telephone, PDA, etc.), or other user input interface ordevice. In response to the user's indication, the remote media guidanceapplication may provide a display screen with media informationorganized in one of several ways, such as by time and channel in a grid,by time, by channel, by media type, by category (e.g., movies, sports,news, children, or other categories of programming), or otherpredefined, user-defined, or other organization criteria.

FIG. 1 shows illustrative grid program listings display 100 arranged bytime and channel that also enables access in a single display todifferent types of media content, which the user may access with one ormore target devices. Display 100 may be presented to the user after theremote media guidance application determines what packages ofprogramming and/or premium services the user may access with one or moretarget devices. Different systems and methods for determining whatpackages of programming and/or premium services the user may access withone or more target devices are discussed below in connection with FIGS.3-16.

Display 100 may include grid 102 with: (1) a column of channel/mediatype identifiers 104, where each channel/media type identifier (which isa cell in the column) identifies a different channel or media typeavailable; and (2) a row of time identifiers 106, where each timeidentifier (which is a cell in the row) identifies a time block ofprogramming. Grid 102 also includes cells of program listings, such asprogram listing 108, where each listing provides the title of theprogram provided on the listing's associated channel and time. With auser input device, a user can select program listings by movinghighlight region 110. Information relating to the program listingselected by highlight region 110 may be provided in program informationregion 112. Region 112 may include, for example, the program title, theprogram description, the time the program is provided (if applicable),the channel the program is on (if applicable), the program's rating, andother desired information.

In addition to providing access to linear programming provided accordingto a schedule, the remote media guidance application also providesaccess to non-linear programming which is not provided according to aschedule. Non-linear programming may include content from differentmedia sources including on-demand media content (e.g., VOD), Internetcontent (e.g., streaming media, downloadable media, etc.), locallystored media content (e.g., video content stored on a digital videorecorder (DVR), digital video disc (DVD), video cassette, compact disc(CD), etc.), or other time-insensitive media content. On-demand contentmay include both movies and original media content provided by aparticular media provider (e.g., HBO On Demand providing “The Sopranos”and “Curb Your Enthusiasm”). HBO ON DEMAND is a service mark owned byTime Warner Company L. P. et al. and THE SOPRANOS and CURB YOURENTHUSIASM are trademarks owned by the Home Box Office, Inc. Internetcontent may include web events, such as a chat session or Webcast, orcontent available on-demand as streaming media or downloadable mediathrough an Internet web site or other Internet access (e.g. FTP).

Grid 102 may provide listings for non-linear programming includingon-demand listing 114, recorded media listing 116, and Internet contentlisting 118. A display combining listings for content from differenttypes of media sources is sometimes referred to as a “mixed-media”display. In some embodiments, the mixed-media display may includelistings for programs that the user may access on different targetdevices. The various permutations of the types of listings that may bedisplayed that are different than display 100 may be based on userselections or guidance application definitions (e.g., a display of onlyrecorded and broadcast listings, only on-demand and broadcast listings,only listings of programs that may be accessed by one or more userequipment devices, etc.). As illustrated, listings 114, 116, and 118 areshown as spanning the entire time block displayed in grid 102 toindicate that selection of these listings may provide access to adisplay dedicated to on-demand listings, recorded listings, or Internetlistings, respectively. In other embodiments, listings for these mediatypes may be included directly in grid 102. Additional listings may bedisplayed in response to the user selecting one of the navigationalicons 120. (Pressing an arrow key on a user input device may affect thedisplay in a similar manner as selecting navigational icons 120.)

Grid 102 may also be customized to indicate which content a particularuser may access on one or more target systems. For example, when grid102 is generated by an online program guidance application, grid 102 maybe customized to indicate content that the user's television equipment,online equipment, mobile equipment, and/or any other equipment allowsthe user to access.

In some embodiments, icons may be used to indicate which target systemsare authorized to provide the user access to one or more programs. Forexample, the remote program guidance application may generate grid 102,which includes icons 122, 124 and 126. In the preferred embodiment,icons 122, 124 and 126 are associated with listings which correspond toprograms that the user can view with one or more target systems. Forexample, icon 122 is associated with listings 114 and 118. Icon 122indicates to the user that the user's online equipment is authorized toprovide the user access to the programs associated with listings 114 and118. As another example, icon 124 indicates that the user's mobileequipment is authorized to provide the user access to the contentassociated with listing 118. Similarly, icon 126 indicates that theuser's television equipment is authorized to provide the programassociated with listing 114 to the user. Icons 122, 124 and 126, likeany other icon discussed herein, may be any suitable graphical image,text or symbol. Systems and methods for determining which content theuser may access on one or more target systems are discussed further inconnection with FIGS. 3-9.

The remote program guidance application may or may not associate an iconwith each program that a target device (such as the user's television,online or mobile equipment device) is authorized to allow the user toview. In the preferred embodiment, a program guidance application onlyassociates icons 122, 124 and 126 with listings that are made availableto the user by a target device. In some embodiments, the remote mediaguidance application may include an icon in grid 102 that is associatedwith the remote device (which is the same device that the remote mediaguidance application is implemented on). For example, the remote mediaguidance application may be a television program guidance application,implemented on user television equipment, that associates icon 126 withlistings that both the user television equipment and a target device(e.g., the user's computer) is authorized to present to the user.

In some embodiments, listings that are not associated with any of icons122, 124 or 126 are understood to be available to the user by the remotedevice, which is presenting display 100. For example, when thetelevision program guidance application presents display 100, thecontent associated with every listing, except for listing 118, can beaccessed using television equipment.

In other embodiments, listings that are not associated with any of icons122, 124 or 126 are understood to be available to the user with aparticular target device. The user may know what the particular targetdevice is based on the type of program listings (e.g., televisionprogram listings may be understood to be available with the user'stelevision equipment, websites may be understood to be available withthe user's computer equipment, etc.) or the user-entered informationdiscussed below. For example, when an online program guidanceapplication presents display 100 after the user instructs the onlineprogram guidance application to link to the user's television equipment,it is understood that the content associated with every listing, exceptfor listing 118, can be viewed using the user's television equipment.

Display 100 may also include video region 128, advertisement 130, andoptions region 132. Video region 128 may allow the user to view and/orpreview programs that are currently available, will be available, orwere available to the user. The content of video region 128 maycorrespond to, or be independent from, one of the listings displayed ingrid 102. Grid displays including a video region are sometimes referredto as picture-in-guide (PIG) displays. PIG displays and theirfunctionalities are described in greater detail in Satterfield et al.U.S. Pat. No. 6,564,378, issued May 13, 2003 and Yuen et al. U.S. Pat.No. 6,239,794, issued May 29, 2001, which are hereby incorporated byreference herein in their entireties. PIG displays may be included inother media guidance application display screens of the presentinvention.

Advertisement 130 may provide an advertisement for media content that,depending on a viewer's access rights (for, e.g., packages ofprogramming, premium services, etc.) associated with one or more targetdevices, is currently available for viewing, will be available forviewing in the future, or may never become available for viewing, andmay correspond to or be unrelated to one or more of the media listingsin grid 102 (such as, e.g., advertisements for programming the user doesnot have access to on the remote device and/or target device).Advertisement 130 may also be for products or services related orunrelated to the media content displayed in grid 102. Advertisement 130may be selectable and provide further information about media content,provide information about a product or a service, enable purchasing ofmedia content, a product, or a service, provide media content relatingto the advertisement, etc. Advertisement 130 may be targeted based on auser's profile/preferences, monitored user activity, the type of displayprovided, or on other suitable targeted advertisement bases. Targetingadvertisements is discussed further below in connection with FIG. 8.

While advertisement 130 is shown as rectangular or banner shaped,advertisements may be provided in any suitable size, shape, and locationin a remote guidance application display. For example, advertisement 130may be provided as a rectangular shape that is horizontally adjacent togrid 102. This is sometimes referred to as a panel advertisement. Inaddition, advertisements may be overlaid over media content or aguidance application display or embedded within a display.Advertisements may also include text, images, rotating images, videoclips, or other types of media content. Advertisements may be stored inthe user equipment with the guidance application, in a databaseconnected to the user equipment, in a remote location (includingstreaming media servers), or on other storage means or a combination ofthese locations. Providing advertisements in a media guidanceapplication is discussed in greater detail in, for example, Knudson etal., U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/347,673, filed Jan. 17, 2003,Ward, III et al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,756,997, issued Jun. 29, 2004, andSchein et al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,388,714, issued May 14, 2002, which arehereby incorporated by reference herein in their entireties. It will beappreciated that advertisements may be included in other media guidanceapplication display screens of the present invention.

Options region 132 may allow the user to access different types of mediacontent, media guidance application displays, and/or media guidanceapplication features. Options region 132 may be part of display 100 (andother display screens of the present invention), or may be invoked by auser by selecting an on-screen option or pressing a dedicated orassignable button on a user input device. The selectable options withinoptions region 132 may concern features related to program listings ingrid 102 or may include options available from a main menu display.Features related to program listings may include searching for other airtimes or ways of receiving a program, recording a program, enablingseries recording of a program, setting program and/or channel as afavorite, purchasing a program, or other features. Options availablefrom a main menu display may include search options, VOD options,parental control options, display options (that allow the user to chooseparticular target devices), subscription options (that allow the user tosubscribe to a premium service or package of programming), or otheroptions.

The remote media guidance application may be personalized based on auser's preferences. A personalized remote media guidance applicationallows a user to customize displays and features to create apersonalized “experience” with the remote media guidance application.This personalized experience may be created by allowing a user to inputthese customizations and/or by the remote media guidance applicationmonitoring user activity to determine various user preferences. Usersmay access their personalized remote media guidance application bylogging in or otherwise identifying themselves to the remote mediaguidance application. Customization of the remote media guidanceapplication may be made in accordance with a user profile. Thecustomizations may include varying presentation schemes (e.g., colorscheme of displays, font size of text, etc.), aspects of media contentlistings displayed (e.g., only HDTV programming, user-specifiedbroadcast channels based on favorite channel selections, re-ordering thedisplay of channels, recommended media content, listings of programsavailable to the user by target devices, etc.), desired recordingfeatures (e.g., recording or series recordings for particular users,recording quality, etc.), parental control settings, and other desiredcustomizations.

The remote media guidance application may allow a user to provide userprofile information or may automatically compile user profileinformation. The remote media guidance application may, for example,monitor the media the user accesses and/or other interactions the usermay have with the remote media guidance application. For example, theremote media guidance application may associate the identifyinginformation of one or more target devices with a user profile.(Identifying information of target devices is discussed further below inconnection with FIG. 3.) Additionally, the remote media guidanceapplication may obtain all or part of other user profiles that arerelated to a particular user (e.g., from other web sites on the Internetthe user accesses, such as www.tvguide.com, from target media guidanceapplications the user accesses, from other media guidance applicationsthe user accesses, from a target device of the user, from other userdevices of the user, etc.), and/or obtain information about the userfrom other sources that the media guidance application may access. As aresult, a user can be provided with a unified guidance applicationexperience across the user's different devices. Additional personalizedmedia guidance application features are described in greater detail inEllis et al., U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/179,410, filed Jul.11, 2005, Boyer et al., U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/437,304,filed Nov. 9, 1999, and Ellis et al., U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/105,128, filed Feb. 21, 2002, which are hereby incorporated byreference herein in their entireties.

Video mosaic display 200, which is another display arrangement forproviding media guidance, is shown in FIG. 2. Display 200 may bepresented by a remote media guidance application that is, for example, atelevision program guidance application.

Video mosaic display 200 includes selectable options 202 for mediacontent information organized based on media type, genre, and/or otherorganization criteria. Selectable options 202 may include listingsoptions 204, 206 and 208. Listings option 202 may allow the user to viewlistings associated with programs that the user may access with one ormore target devices. In some embodiments, the remote media guidanceapplication may ask the user to identify the target device prior todisplaying listings associated with the target device (which isdiscussed further below in connection with FIGS. 3 and 8). Listingsoption 206 may allow the user to access all the listings associated withprograms that a user may access on all devices (e.g., both target andremote devices). Listings option 208 may allow the user to accesslistings only associated with programs that the user may access with theremote device, such as, e.g., user television equipment or personalcomputer.

In response to a user selecting one of the listings options included inselectable options 202, the remote media guidance application mayprovide listings 210, 212, 214, and 216. Similar to the listingsincluded in grid 102 of FIG. 1, listings 210, 212, 214 and 216 may beassociated with any type of program. Unlike the listings from FIG. 1,the listings in display 200 are not limited to simple text (e.g., theprogram title) and icons to describe media. Rather, in display 200 thelistings may provide graphical images including cover art, still imagesfrom the media content, video clip previews, live video from the mediacontent, or other types of media that indicate to a user the mediacontent being described by the listing. Each of the graphical listingsmay also be accompanied by text to provide further information about themedia content associated with the listing. For example, listing 212 mayinclude more than one portion, including media portion 214 and textportion 216. Media portion 214 and/or text portion 216 may be selectableto view video in full-screen or to view program listings related to thevideo displayed in media portion 214 (e.g., to view listings for thechannel that the video is displayed on).

The listings in display 200 are of different sizes (i.e., listing 210 islarger than listings 212, 214, and 216), but if desired, all thelistings may be the same size. Any or all of listings 210-216 mayinclude icons (e.g., similar to icons 122, 124 and 126 of FIG. 1) orother information that identify which device (e.g., which target device)the user may use to access the associated program. Listings may be ofdifferent sizes or graphically accentuated to indicate degrees ofinterest to the user or to emphasize certain content, as desired by themedia provider or based on user preferences. Various systems and methodsfor graphically accentuating media listings are discussed in, forexample, Yates, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/324,202, filed Dec.29, 2005, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in itsentirety.

In response to the user selecting, for example, listings option 204 ofFIG. 2, the remote media guidance application may provide display 300 ofFIG. 3. Display 300 may also be displayed in response to a userselecting an option in a set-up menu display (not pictured) oruser-preferences menu display (not pictured).

Display 300 may include region 302, which prompts the user foridentifying information about one or more target devices. The user mayenter the name of the target device into field 304 or use navigationalicons 306 to select a predetermined target device name.

Once the user inputs or selects the target device name, the remote mediaguidance application may automatically populate field 308, therebyindicating to the user what information that the remote media guidanceapplication will need to identify the named target device. For example,when the remote media guidance application is an online guidanceapplication, it may need an account number to link with a hometelevision set-top box. As another example, the remote media guidanceapplication may only need a mobile telephone number to link with amobile device. The types of identifying data that may be used topopulate field 308 (either automatically or in response to a user input)include, for example, a physical address of the target device (e.g.,mailing address, zip code, etc.), network address of the target device(e.g., IP address, set-top box ID, etc.), telephone number (e.g., mobiletelephone number, home telephone number, etc.), an account number, typeof target device (e.g., satellite set-top box, cable set-top box, mobiletelephone model no., etc.), primary content provider (e.g., cabletelevision data source, mobile data source, satellite guidance datasource, service provider, etc.), name of the target device,user-identifiable information (e.g., credit card number, personalidentification number, etc.), and/or any other information or data thatmay allow the remote media guidance application with linking to thetarget device.

In some embodiments, the remote media guidance application may providethe user a number of fields 308 for each target device. In someembodiments, the user may be able to scroll through a list that isembedded in each field 308 and select the type of identifying data thatthe user would like to use to identify the target device named in field304. The identifying data is then entered, either automatically by theremote media guidance application or by a user, into field 310. Region302 may be used to name and identify multiple target devices.

As discussed below, the identifying information entered into the fieldsof FIG. 3 may be used to link to the target device(s) and/or othersources of data. The remote media guidance application may then receivedata that the remote media guidance application can use to determinewhich packages of programming and/or premium services each target deviceis authorized to allow the user to access. (Different types of data aswell as illustrative methods for determining which packages ofprogramming and/or premium services each target device is authorized toallow the user to access are discussed further below in connection withFIGS. 8-16.)

One skilled in the art would appreciate that some embodiments of thepresent invention may not present display 300 to the user. For example,display 300 may not be presented when the user had provided the remotemedia guidance application identifying data for one or more targetdevices. The remote media guidance application may also automaticallyobtain identifying data about each target device associated with theuser. For example, the remote media guidance application may useinformation, such as billing address, account number, telephone number,etc. that the remote media guidance application may already have accessto.

In some embodiments, the remote media guidance application may generatedisplay 400 shown in FIG. 4. Display 400 may include region 402 whichenables the user to identify which channels the user can and cannotaccess with a particular target device. The remote media guidanceapplication may then use this information to generate channel data.Channel data indicates whether or not a particular target device allowsa user to view one or more particular channels of programming.

Region 402 may include field 404 and navigational icons 406. Field 404and navigational icons 406 preferably function similar to or the same asfield 304 and navigational icons 306 of FIG. 3, respectively.

Region 404 may also include channel listing 408. In the preferredembodiment, channel listing 408 includes a subset of the channels that aparticular target device may be authorized to allow a user to access.(As referenced herein, the term “channel” includes a broadcasttelevision channel, webpage, radio frequency, mobile TV channel, and anyother path along which information or data may pass. Likewise, asreferenced herein, “tune,” “tuning” and “tuned” include any means ofestablishing a connection with a channel. For example, in addition tothe traditional tuning of a television or radio receiver, “tuning,” asused herein, also includes directing a web browser to an Internetwebpage, accessing a mobile TV program, etc.) The remote media guidanceapplication may determine which channels to include in channel listing408 based on package data that the remote media guidance applicationobtains from, for example, an online database or other source of data.Package data associates packages of programming and premium serviceswith one or more channels of programming that a particular target devicemay receive by a source device.

Channels listing 408 may be, for example, generated after the remotemedia guidance application identifies the target device as being theuser's satellite television set-top box. The remote media guidanceapplication may then request and receive programming from a particularsatellite television provider. The remote media guidance application mayalso obtain the package data from one or more other databases that haveinformation about the packages of programming and/or premium servicesprovided by the satellite provider. The package data associated with theparticular satellite television provider may indicate, for example,that: channel 2 is associated with the package of local channels,channel 50 is associated with the network package of programming,channel 201 is associated with the expanded network package ofprogramming, channel 301 is associated with the HBO package ofprogramming and the HBO VOD service, channel 311 is associated with theShowtime package of programming and VOD service, and channel 400 isassociated with NFL Ticket package of programming. The channels includedin channel listing 408 is largely dependent on the channel line-up of aprogram provider. Obtaining package data is discussed further below inconnection with FIG. 11.

For each channel included in channel listing 408, the remote mediaguidance application may present an associated field 410 and a pair ofnavigational icons 412. The user may use navigational icons 412 toselect whether or not the user may view the associated channel inchannel listing 408. In alternative embodiments, the user may also beable to indicate that the user does not know whether or not the user mayuse the target device to view the associated channel. Once the user hasfinished indicating whether or not the user may access each of thechannels included in channel listing 408, the user may select done icon414. In response to the user selecting done icon 414, the remote mediaguidance application may generate channel data, which may be used togenerate subscription data. Methods of using and generating channel dataare discussed further below in connection with FIGS. 11-13.

After the remote media guidance application has either generated orreceived subscription data, the remote media guidance application maypresent display 500 of FIG. 5. Display 500 includes region 502, whichindicates to the user which packages of programming and premium servicesthe user may access with a particular target device. For example, eachpackage of programming and premium service, which is associated with achannel that the user may access (e.g., those channels with a “yes” infield 410), may be displayed in package summary region 504. The user maythen confirm that the information displayed in package summary region504 is correct by selecting confirm icon 506. When the user confirmsthat the information in package summary region 504 is correct, theremote media guidance application may then provide the user, forexample, display 100 or display 200 of FIG. 1 or FIG. 2, respectively,that includes the channels associated with the packages of program andpremium services presented in package summary region 504. When the userselects reject icon 508, the remote media guidance application may, forexample, present to display 400 and allow the user to correct anymistakes that may have been made. In some embodiments, the remote mediaguidance application may present display 300 and request additionalidentifying information about the target device.

As described above, users may access media content as well as displayscreens provided by the remote and target media guidance applicationsfrom one or more of their user equipment devices. FIG. 6 shows ageneralized embodiment of illustrative user equipment device 600. Morespecific implementations of user equipment devices are discussed belowin connection with FIG. 7.

User equipment device 600 may be either a remote device or target devicedepending on whether or not the user is using it at a particular time.As such, the user uses a remote device to access data about a targetdevice. In other words, the remote device is a user equipment devicethat the user is using from a location that is remote from the targetdevice. The target device is a user equipment device that is beingtargeted by the remote device.

User equipment device 600 may receive media content and data viainput/output (hereinafter “I/O”) path 602. I/O path 602 may providemedia content (e.g., broadcast programming, on-demand programming,Internet content, and other video or audio) and data to controlcircuitry 604, which includes processing circuitry 606 and storage 608.Control circuitry 604 may be used to send and receive commands,requests, and other suitable data using I/O path 602. I/O path 602 mayconnect control circuitry 604 (and specifically processing circuitry606) to one or more communications paths (described below). I/Ofunctions may be provided by one or more of these communications paths,but are shown as a single path in FIG. 6 to avoid overcomplicating thedrawing.

Control circuitry 604 may be based on any suitable processing circuitry606 such as processing circuitry based on one or more microprocessors,microcontrollers, digital signal processors, programmable logic devices,etc. In some embodiments, control circuitry 604 executes instructionsfor a media guidance application (which may be a remote media guidanceapplication or target media guidance application) stored in memory(i.e., storage 608). In client-server based embodiments, controlcircuitry 604 may include communications circuitry suitable forcommunicating with a guidance application server, other networks orservers, and/or other media guidance applications. Communicationscircuitry may include a cable modem, an integrated services digitalnetwork (ISDN) modem, a digital subscriber line (DSL) modem, a telephonemodem, or a wireless modem for communications with other equipment. Suchcommunications may involve the Internet or any other suitablecommunications networks or paths (which are described in more detail inconnection with FIG. 7). In addition, communications circuitry mayinclude circuitry that enables peer-to-peer communication of userequipment devices, such as, for example, communications between a remotedevice and one or more target devices (described in more detail below).

Memory (e.g., random-access memory, read-only memory, or any othersuitable memory), hard drives, optical drives, or any other suitablefixed or removable storage devices (e.g., DVD recorder, CD recorder,video cassette recorder, or other suitable recording device) may beprovided as storage 608 that is part of control circuitry 604. Storage608 may include one or more of the above types of storage devices. Forexample, user equipment device 600 may include a hard drive for a DVR(sometimes called a personal video recorder, or PVR) and a DVD recorderas a secondary storage device. Storage 608 may be used to store varioustypes of media described herein and guidance application data, includingprogram information, guidance application settings, subscription data,package data, channel data, user preferences or profile information, orother data used in operating the guidance application. Nonvolatilememory may also be used (e.g., to launch a boot-up routine and otherinstructions).

Control circuitry 604 may include video generating circuitry and tuningcircuitry, such as one or more analog tuners, one or more MPEG-2decoders or other digital decoding circuitry, high-definition (HD)tuners, or any other suitable tuning or video circuits or combinationsof such circuits. Encoding circuitry (e.g., for converting over-the-air,analog, or digital signals to MPEG signals for storage) may also beprovided. Control circuitry 604 may also include scaler circuitry forupconverting and downconverting media into the preferred output formatof the user equipment 600. Circuitry 604 may also includedigital-to-analog converter circuitry and analog-to-digital convertercircuitry for converting between digital and analog signals. The tuningand encoding circuitry may be used by the user equipment to receive andto display, to play, or to record media content. The tuning and encodingcircuitry may also be used to receive guidance data. The circuitrydescribed herein, including for example, the tuning, video generating,encoding, decoding, scaler, and analog/digital circuitry, may beimplemented using software running on one or more general purpose orspecialized processors. Multiple tuners may be provided to handlesimultaneous tuning functions (e.g., watch and record functions,picture-in-picture (PIP) functions, multiple-tuner recording, etc.). Ifstorage 608 is provided as a separate device from user equipment 600,the tuning and encoding circuitry (including multiple tuners) may beassociated with storage 608.

A user may control the control circuitry 604 using user input interface610. User input interface 610 may be any suitable user interface, suchas a remote control, mouse, trackball, keypad, keyboard, touch screen,touch pad, stylus input, joystick, voice recognition interface, or otheruser input interfaces. Display 612 may be provided as a stand-alonedevice or integrated with other elements of user equipment device 600.Display 612 may be one or more of a monitor, a television, a liquidcrystal display (LCD) for a mobile device, or any other suitableequipment for displaying visual images. In some embodiments, Display 612may be HDTV-capable. Speakers 614 may be provided as integrated withother elements of user equipment device 600 or may be stand-alone units.The audio component of videos and other media content displayed onDisplay 612 may be played through Speakers 614. In some embodiments, theaudio may be distributed to a receiver (not shown), which processes andoutputs the audio via Speakers 614.

User equipment device 600 of FIG. 6 can be implemented in system 700 ofFIG. 7 as user television equipment 702, user computer equipment 704,user mobile equipment 706, or any other type of user equipment suitablefor accessing media, such as a non-portable gaming machine. As such,each of user television equipment 702, user computer equipment 704, anduser mobile equipment 706 may be either a remote or target device,depending on whether or not the user is using the user equipment deviceor targeting the user equipment device. For simplicity, these devicesmay be referred to herein collectively as user equipment or userequipment devices. User equipment devices, on which a media guidanceapplication is implemented, may function as a standalone device or maybe part of a network of devices. A media guidance applicationimplemented on a remote device is referred to herein as a remote mediaguidance application. A media guidance application implemented on atarget device is referred to herein as a target media guidanceapplication. Various network configurations of devices may beimplemented and are discussed in more detail below.

User television equipment 702 may include a set-top box, an integratedreceiver decoder (IRD) for handling satellite television, a televisionset, a digital storage device, a DVD recorder, a video-cassette recorder(VCR), a local media server, or other user television equipment. One ormore of these devices may be integrated to be a single device, ifdesired. User computer equipment 704 may include a PC, a laptop, atablet, a WebTV box, a personal computer television (PC/TV), a PC mediaserver, a PC media center, or other user computer equipment. WEBTV is atrademark owned by Microsoft Corp. User mobile equipment 706 may includePDAs, a mobile telephone, a portable video player, a portable musicplayer, a portable gaming machine, or other wireless devices.

The user equipment devices may be authorized to allow the user to accessdifferent media on a subscription basis. For example, the user may pay asubscription fee, which may be an amount of money, and in return a userequipment device (e.g., set-top box, cellular telephone, etc.) isauthorized to allow the user to access one or more premium services(e.g., VOD services, digital cable, HD programming services, additionalprogram guide features, etc.) and/or packages of programming (e.g.,basic programming, premium programming, HBO programming, SHOprogramming, etc.). The authorization may come from a media contentsource (e.g., headend, online media store, etc.) and/or a media guidancedata source, both of which are discussed further below. The subscriptionfee may be charged on an occurrence-by-occurrence basis (e.g., oneprogram at a time), monthly basis, yearly basis, or any other basis. Thesubscription data may be integrated into the user equipment device assoftware or hardware. In some embodiments, the subscription data for aparticular user equipment device may be obtained from a media contentsource and/or the media guidance data source, such as those discussedbelow. An illustrative embodiment of a subscription data structure isdiscussed further below in connection with FIG. 14.

One skilled in the art would appreciate that the user equipment devicesmay be premium devices that authorize the user to access one or morepremium services and/or packages of programming without requiring theuser to have a subscription for the programming. For example, an HDradio is a premium device that currently allows a user to access HDradio programming without a subscription.

It should be noted that with the advent of television tuner cards forPC's, WebTV, and the integration of video into other user equipmentdevices, the lines have become blurred when trying to classify a deviceas one of the above devices. In fact, each of user television equipment702, user computer equipment 704, and user mobile equipment 706 mayutilize at least some of the system features described above inconnection with FIG. 6 and, as a result, include flexibility withrespect to the type of media content available on the device. Forexample, user television equipment 702 may be Internet-enabled allowingfor access to Internet content, while user computer equipment 704 mayinclude a tuner allowing for access to television programming. The mediaguidance application may also have the same layout on the variousdifferent types of user equipment or may be tailored to the displaycapabilities of the user equipment. For example, on user computerequipment, the guidance application may be provided as a web siteaccessed by a web browser. In another example, the guidance applicationmay be scaled down for wireless user communications devices.

In system 700, there is typically more than one of each type of userequipment device but only one of each is shown in FIG. 7 to avoidovercomplicating the drawing. In addition, each user may utilize morethan one type of user equipment device (e.g., a user may have atelevision set and a computer) and also more than one of each type ofuser equipment device (e.g., a user may have a PDA and a mobiletelephone and/or multiple television sets).

The user may also set various settings to maintain consistent mediaguidance application settings across in-home devices and out-of-homedevices. Settings include those described above, as well as channel andprogram favorites, programming preferences that a media guidanceapplication utilizes to make programming recommendations, displaypreferences, and other desirable guidance settings. For example, if auser sets a channel as a favorite on, for example, the web sitewww.tvguide.com on their personal computer at their office, the samechannel may appear as a favorite on the user's in-home devices (e.g.,user television equipment and user computer equipment) as well as theuser's mobile devices, if desired. Therefore, changes made on one userequipment device can change the guidance experience on another userequipment device, regardless of whether they are the same or a differenttype of user equipment device and regardless of whether they are beingused as a target or remote device. In addition, the changes made may bebased on settings input by a user, as well as user activity monitored bythe media guidance application.

The user equipment devices may be coupled to communications network 714.Namely, user television equipment 702, user computer equipment 704, anduser mobile equipment 706 are coupled to communications network 714 viacommunications paths 708, 710, and 712, respectively. Communicationsnetwork 714 may be one or more networks including the Internet, a mobilephone network, mobile device (e.g., Blackberry) network, cable network,public switched telephone network, or other types of communicationsnetwork or combinations of communications networks. BLACKBERRY is aservice mark owned by Research In Motion Limited Corp. Paths 708, 710,and 712 may separately or together include one or more communicationspaths, such as, a satellite path, a fiber-optic path, a cable path, apath that supports Internet communications (e.g., IPTV), free-spaceconnections (e.g., for broadcast or other wireless signals), or anyother suitable wired or wireless communications path or combination ofsuch paths. Path 712 is drawn with dotted lines to indicate that in theexemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 7 it is a wireless path and paths 708and 710 are drawn as solid lines to indicate they are wired paths(although these paths may be wireless paths, if desired). Communicationswith the user equipment devices may be provided by one or more of thesecommunications paths, but are shown as a single path in FIG. 7 to avoidovercomplicating the drawing.

Although communications paths are not drawn between user equipmentdevices, these devices may communicate directly with each other viacommunication paths, such as those described above in connection withpaths 708, 710, and 712, as well other short-range point-to-pointcommunication paths, such as USB cables, IEEE 1394 cables, wirelesspaths (e.g., Bluetooth, infrared, IEEE 802-11x, etc.), or othershort-range communication via wired or wireless paths. BLUETOOTH is acertification mark owned by Bluetooth SIG, INC. The user equipmentdevices may also communicate with each other directly through anindirect path via communications network 714.

System 700 includes media content source 716 and media guidance datasource 718 coupled to communications network 714 via communication paths720 and 722, respectively. Both media content source 716 and mediaguidance data source 718 are sometimes referred to herein as sourcedevices. Paths 720 and 722 may include any of the communication pathsdescribed above in connection with paths 708, 710, and 712.Communications with the media content source 716 and media guidance datasource 718 may be exchanged over one or more communications paths, butare shown as a single path in FIG. 7 to avoid overcomplicating thedrawing. In addition, there may be more than one of each of mediacontent source 716 and media guidance data source 718, but only one ofeach is shown in FIG. 7 to avoid overcomplicating the drawing. (Thedifferent types of each of these sources are discussed below.) Ifdesired, media content source 716 and media guidance data source 718 maybe integrated as one source device. Although communications betweensources devices 716 and 718 with user equipment devices 702, 704, and706 are shown as through communications network 714, in someembodiments, sources devices 716 and 718 may communicate directly withuser equipment devices 702, 704, and 706 via communication paths (notshown) such as those described above in connection with paths 708, 710,and 712.

Media content source 716 may include one or more types of mediadistribution equipment including a television distribution facility,cable system headend, satellite distribution facility, programmingsources (e.g., television broadcasters, such as NBC, ABC, HBO, etc.),online media stores (e.g. iTunes, etc.) intermediate distributionfacilities and/or servers, Internet providers, on-demand media servers,and other media content providers. NBC is a trademark owned by theNational Broadcasting Company, Inc., iTunes is a service mark owned byApple Inc., ABC is a trademark owned by the ABC, Inc., and HBO is atrademark owned by the Home Box Office, Inc. Media content source 716may be the originator of media content (e.g., a television broadcaster,a Webcast provider, etc.) or may not be the originator of media content(e.g., an on-demand media content provider, an Internet provider ofvideo content of broadcast programs for downloading, etc.). Mediacontent source 716 may include cable sources, satellite providers,on-demand providers, Internet providers, or other providers of mediacontent.

Media content source 716 may also include a remote media server used tostore different types of media content (including video content selectedby a user), in a location remote from any of the user equipment devices.Systems and methods for remote storage of media content, and providingremotely stored media content to user equipment are discussed in greaterdetail in connection with Ellis et al., U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/332,244, filed Jun. 11, 1999, which is hereby incorporated byreference herein in its entirety.

As described above, media content source 716 may provide content to userequipment devices on a subscription basis. As such, media content source716 may store or have access to subscription data associated with eachuser equipment device that it provides programming to. In suchembodiments, media content source 716 may use identifying data (such asthe data discussed above in connection with FIG. 3) to identify eachuser equipment device. In other embodiments, media content source 716provides all content to each user equipment device and each userequipment device is specifically programmed to only allow the user toaccess the programming that the user subscribes to.

Media guidance data source 718 may provide media guidance data, such asmedia listings, media-related information (e.g., broadcast times, mediachannels, media titles, media descriptions, ratings information (e.g.,parental control ratings, critic's ratings, etc.), genre or categoryinformation, actor information, logo data for broadcasters' orproviders' logos, subscription information, etc.), media format (e.g.,standard definition, high definition, etc.), advertisement information(e.g., text, images, media clips, etc.), on-demand information,subscription data, package data, channel data and any other type ofmedia guidance application data that may be used to generate programguide displays (such as those shown in FIGS. 1-5) that are helpful for auser to navigate among and locate desired media selections.

Media guidance application data may be provided to the user equipmentdevices using any suitable approach. In some embodiments, the guidanceapplication may be a stand-alone interactive television program guidethat receives program guide data via a data feed (e.g., a continuousfeed, trickle feed, or data in the vertical blanking interval of achannel).

Program schedule data and other media guidance data may be provided tothe user equipment on a television channel sideband, in the verticalblanking interval of a television channel, using an in-band digitalsignal, using an out-of-band digital signal, or by any other suitabledata transmission technique. Program schedule data and other mediaguidance data may be provided to user equipment on multiple analog ordigital television channels. Program schedule data and other mediaguidance data may be provided to the user equipment with any suitablefrequency (e.g., continuously, daily, a user-specified period of time, asystem-specified period of time, in response to a request from userequipment, etc.). In some approaches, media guidance data from mediaguidance data source 718 may be provided to users' equipment using aclient-server approach. For example, a media guidance application clientresiding on the user's equipment may initiate sessions with source 718to obtain guidance data when needed. Media guidance data source 718 mayprovide user equipment devices 702, 704, and 706 the media guidanceapplication itself or software updates for the media guidanceapplication.

Media guidance applications may be, for example, stand-aloneapplications implemented on user equipment devices. In otherembodiments, media guidance applications may be client-serverapplications where only the client resides on the user equipment device.For example, media guidance applications may be implemented partially asa client application on control circuitry 604 of user equipment device600 and partially on a remote server as a server application (e.g.,media guidance data source 718). The media guidance application displaysmay be generated by the media guidance data source 718 and transmittedto the user equipment devices. The media guidance data source 718 mayalso transmit data for storage on the user equipment, which thengenerates the guidance application displays based on instructionsprocessed by control circuitry.

Media guidance system 700 is intended to illustrate a number ofapproaches, or network configurations, by which user equipment devicesand sources of media content and guidance data may communicate with eachother for the purpose of accessing media and providing media guidance.The present invention may be applied in any one or a subset of theseapproaches, or in a system employing other approaches for deliveringmedia and providing media guidance. The following three approachesprovide specific illustrations of the generalized example of FIG. 7.

In one approach, user equipment devices, such as a remote device and atarget device, may communicate with each other within a home network.User equipment devices can communicate with each other directly viashort-range point-to-point communication schemes describe above, viaindirect paths through a hub or other similar device provided on a homenetwork, or via communications network 714. Each of the multipleindividuals in a single home may operate different user equipmentdevices on the home network, however, each individual may be able toaccess the content the other individuals subscribe to with the differentuser equipment devices. As a result, it may be desirable for userequipment device ID information as well as various media guidanceinformation, settings, and data (such as, e.g., subscription data,channel data, package data, program guide data, etc.) to be communicatedbetween the different user equipment devices. For example, the presentinvention may automatically populate fields, similar to those discussedin connection with FIG. 3, with the data shared on a home network. Asanother example, it may be desirable for users to maintain consistentmedia guidance application settings on different user equipment deviceswithin a home network, as described in greater detail in Ellis et al.,U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/179,410, filed Jul. 11, 2005.Different types of user equipment devices in a home network may alsocommunicate with each other to transmit media content. For example, auser may transmit media content from user computer equipment to aportable video player or portable music player.

In a second approach, users of remote devices, which may be locatedinside or outside a home, can use their remote media guidanceapplication to communicate directly with media content source 716 todetermine which media content a target device is authorized to provideto the user. For example, within a home, users of user televisionequipment 704 or user computer equipment 706 may access media contentsource 716, which may be a mobile media content source, to navigateamong and locate desirable media content the user's mobile device isauthorized to access. As another example, users may also access theremote media guidance application using user mobile equipment 706 andnavigate among and locate desirable media content available to the useron one or more target devices, such as user television equipment 702and/or user computer equipment 704.

In a third approach, users may have multiple types of user equipment bywhich they access media content and obtain media guidance. For example,some users may have home networks that are accessed by in-home devices.Users may use a remote media guidance application, which may beimplemented on a remote device located inside and/or outside a user'shome (e.g., laptop computer, mobile device, etc.), to control theirother in-home devices (e.g., television, home computer, etc.). Forexample, the remote media guidance application may be an online programguidance application on a website accessed via a personal computer attheir office or home. Some mobile devices are not web-enabled, but doreceive mobile TV (using, for example, Verizon's VCAST premium service).VCAST is a service mark owned by Verizon Wireless Bell Atlantic CellularHoldings, L.P., et al. As another example, the remote media guidanceapplication may also be a mobile program guidance application that maybe presented on such mobile devices. The user may set various settings(e.g., recordings, reminders, or other settings) on the online guidanceapplication to control target equipment such as, for example, the user'sin-home equipment. The remote media guidance application may control theuser's equipment directly, or by communicating with a target mediaguidance application on the user's in-home equipment. Various systemsand methods for communicating between user equipment devices, where theuser equipment devices are each in different physical locations, arediscussed in, for example, Ellis et al., U.S. patent application Ser.No. 10/927,814, filed Aug. 26, 2004, which is hereby incorporated byreference herein in its entirety.

Further to the discussion above in connection with FIGS. 1-5, methodsfor determining which packages of programming and/or premium serviceseach target device is authorized to allow the user to access arediscussed further below in connection with FIGS. 8-16. FIG. 8 showsprocess 800, which generally depicts how the preferred embodiment of thepresent invention determines which packages and/or premium services eachtarget device allows a user to access prior to displaying, for example,display 100 of FIG. 1 on a remote device. In some embodiments, which arediscussed in connection with FIGS. 9 and 10, the remote media guidanceapplication may obtain subscription data from the target device or asource device that provides programming and/or program information tothe target device. In other embodiments, which are discussed inconnection with FIGS. 11-13, the subscription data is generated by aremote media guidance application and/or target media guidanceapplication using, for example, package data and channel data. FIG. 14shows an illustrative example of a subscription data structure that canbe used to indicate which premium services and/or packages ofprogramming a particular target device is authorized to allow a user toaccess.

Process 800 begins at step 802. In step 804, a user or remote mediaguidance application obtains identifying data about a target device, asdiscussed above in connection with FIG. 3.

In step 806 the remote media guidance application uses the identifyingdata from step 804 to obtain subscription data associated with thetarget device. Subscription data may be obtained in a number of ways.For example, the remote media guidance application may request andreceive the subscription data from the target device or from a sourcedevice (which are discussed further in connection with FIGS. 9 and 10,respectively). As another example, the remote media guidance applicationmay generate subscription data associated with the target device (whichis discussed further in connection with FIGS. 11-13).

Subscription data indicates what packages of programming and premiumservices a target device is authorized to allow a user to access.Process 800 then proceeds to step 808 where the remote media guidanceapplication selects a particular package of programming or premiumservice included in the subscription data.

The remote media guidance application analyses that portion of thesubscription data and determines in step 810 whether or not the targetdevice is authorized to provide the particular package of programmingand/or premium service to a user.

When the remote media guidance application determines that theparticular package of programming or premium service is not madeavailable to the user with the target device, process 800 proceeds tostep 812. In step 812 the remote media guidance application generatesprogram guide data that omits listings, advertisements, and/or otherinformation associated with the particular package of programming. Insome alternative embodiments, advertisements for the particular packageof programming or premium service may be included in the program guidedata, because the particular package of programming or premium serviceis not associated with the subscription data. In some embodiments,rather than omitting listings and/or other information the target deviceis not authorized to present to the user, the remote media guidanceapplication may present the prohibited listings and/or other informationin a manner that is different than the listings and/or other informationthe user may access with the target device. For example, the prohibitedlistings may be shaded gray and/or colored red, while the authorizedlistings are not shaded and/or colored black.

When the remote media guidance application determines that theparticular package of programming or premium service can be accessedwith the target device, process 800 proceeds from step 810 to step 814.In step 814 the remote media guidance application generates programguide data that includes information, listing and/or advertisementsassociated with the particular package of programming and/or premiumservice.

In step 816, the remote media guidance application determines whether ornot there are any other packages of programming or premium services,which are associated with the subscription data and have not beenprocessed through step 810. If so, process 800 returns to step 808 andanother package of programming or premium service is selected andprocessed through steps 808-814.

When every package of programming and premium service associated withthe subscription data has been processed through step 810, process 800proceeds to step 818. In step 818, all of the program guide datagenerated in steps 812 and 814 are compiled together. In step 820, thecompiled program guide data is used to display a program guide similaror the same as, for example, that shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 2 or FIG. 5.Process 800 ends at step 822.

FIG. 9 shows process 900, which is an illustrative example of howsubscription data may be obtained in step 806 of process 800. Process900 begins at step 902.

In step 904, the remote media guidance application uses the targetdevice's identifying data, which was obtained in step 804 of process800, to link with the target device. The remote media guidanceapplication preferably uses a communications path, such as thosediscussed above in connection with FIG. 7, to link with the targetdevice. In some embodiments, the remote media guidance application maythen communicate with a target media guidance application implemented onthe target device.

In step 906, the remote media guidance application requests subscriptiondata from the target device. In response to the request, the remotemedia guidance application receives subscription data from the targetdevice in step 908. The process ends at step 910.

FIG. 10 shows process 1000, which is an second illustrative example ofhow subscription data may be obtained in step 806 of process 800.Process 1000 begins at step 1002.

In step 1004, the remote media guidance application uses the targetdevice's identifying data, which was obtained in step 804 of process800, to identify a source device (such as the source devices discussedabove in connection with FIG. 7) that provides programming and/orprogramming data to the target device. In some embodiments, the remotemedia guidance application may require additional information tocomplete step 1004. In such embodiments, the remote media guidanceapplication may prompt the user for additional identifying data aboutthe target device, such as, for example, the target device's serviceprovider.

In step 1006, the remote media guidance application uses the targetdevice's identifying data, which was obtained in step 804 of process 800(and, in some instances, the additional data obtained in step 1004), tocommunicate with the source device (identified in step 1004).Communications may be exchanged over a communications path, such asthose discussed above in connection with FIG. 7.

In step 1008, the remote media guidance application requestssubscription data associated with the target device from the sourcedevice. In response to the request, the remote media guidanceapplication receives subscription data from the source device in step1010. The process ends at step 1012.

FIG. 11 shows process 1100, which is a third illustrative example of howsubscription data may be obtained in step 806 of process 800. Inparticular, process 1100 illustrates a method for generatingsubscription data. Subscription data may need to be generated when, forexample, the remote media guidance application is unable to receive thesubscription data from the target device and/or source device, becauseof formatting, encryption, transmission, handshaking, and/or any otherproblem. Process 1100 begins at step 1102.

In step 1104, the remote media guidance application uses the targetdevice's identifying data, which was obtained in step 804 of process800, to identify a source device (such as the source devices discussedabove in connection with FIG. 7). The source device preferably providesprogramming and/or programming data to the target device. In someembodiments, the source device may be, for example, a database that doesnot actually provide programming to a target device, but rather providesdata (about, e.g., target devices and/or other source devices thatprovide programming or programming information to potential targetdevices) to remote devices. For example, the source device may be adatabase maintained for tvguide.com that includes channel line-ups(i.e., which channel numbers are associated with which packages ofprogramming and premium services) for a number of television headendsystems and satellite providers around the world.

In some embodiments, the remote media guidance application may requireadditional information to complete step 1004. In such embodiments, theremote media guidance application may prompt the user for additionalidentifying data about the target device, such as, for example, thetarget device's service provider.

In step 1106, the remote media guidance application uses the targetdevice's identifying data, which was obtained in step 804 of process 800(and, in some instances, the additional data obtained in step 1104), tocommunicate with the source device (identified in step 1104). Thecommunications may be exchanged over a communications path, such asthose discussed above in connection with FIG. 7.

In step 1108, the remote media guidance application requests packagedata from the source device. The remote media guidance applicationreceives the package data in step 1110 from the source device. Thepackage data allows the remote media guidance application to determinethe channel line-up provided to the target device.

In step 1112, the remote media guidance application uses the packagedata to identify one or more channels that are associated with eachpackage of programming and premium service that the target device mayreceive. All of the channels that are identified are compiled into alist. In the preferred embodiment, the list includes only onerepresentative channel for each package of programming or premiumservice. In other embodiments, the list may include more than onechannel associated with each package of programming or premium service.In some of these other embodiments, every channel in the channel line-upmay be included in the list. The list of channels may then be displayedin a manner similar to or the same as the list of channels displayed inFIG. 4.

In step 1114, channel data is obtained. Channel data may be obtained by,for example, requesting and receiving the channel data from a targetdevice and/or source device. Additional examples of how channel data maybe obtained are discussed in connection with FIGS. 12 and 13.

Next is step 1116, at which the remote media guidance applicationselects a channel from the list that was generated in step 1112. Whenthe list only includes one representative channel for each package ofprogramming or premium service, the remote media guidance applicationselects from the list a channel that has not been selected. Similarlyeven when the list includes more than one channel for each package ofprogramming or premium service, the remote media guidance applicationmay, for example, simply select from the list a channel that has not yetbeen selected.

In some other embodiments, when the list may include more than onechannel for each package of programming or premium service and when step1116 is preceded by step 1124 (discussed below), the remote mediaguidance application may utilize additional information when selecting achannel from the list. For example, the remote media guidanceapplication may select from the list a channel that (1) has not yet beenselected and (2) is associated with a package of programming or premiumservice which is not currently included in the subscription data(generated in steps 1120 and 1122 below). As such, the remote mediaguidance application may use partially generated subscription data todeduce which packages of programming and premium services have alreadybeen analyzed. In addition, the remote media guidance application mayuse the package data to deduce which channels are associated withpackages of programming and premium services.

For example, when step 1124 precedes step 1116, the remote mediaguidance application may have already selected channel 171, determinedthat the user has access to a particular premium sports package, andgenerated partial subscription data based on the determination. Theremote media guidance application may then use the package data todeduce that channel 172, which is also included in the list and has notbeen selected, is associated with the particular premium sports package.The remote media guidance application may then deduce, for example, thatthe user also has access to channel 172, because channel 172 is notavailable ala carte and only available when the user subscribes to theparticular premium sports package. As a result, the remote mediaguidance application will not select channel 172 from the list in step1116. In other words, by determining (in steps 1118-1122) that the usercan view channel 171, the remote media guidance application is able todetermine that the user has access to the particular premium sportspackage, and subsequently deduce that the remote media guidanceapplication does not need to select from the list the other channelsassociated with the particular premium sports package. By making thesedeductions, the process of the invention may be executed moreefficiently and timely.

The remote media guidance application uses the channel data obtained instep 1114 to determine in step 1118 whether or not the channel can beaccessed by the user with the target device. When the target device isnot authorized to allow the user to access the first channel (e.g., itis blocked, unavailable, scrambled, etc.), the remote media guidanceapplication generates subscription data in step 1120 that indicates thatthe target device is not authorized to allow the user to access thepackage of programming or premium service associated with the channel.When the target device is authorized to allow the user to access thechannel, the remote media guidance application generates subscriptiondata in step 1122 that indicates that the target device is authorized toallow the user to access the package of programming or premium serviceassociated with the channel.

Process 1100 then proceeds to step 1124, in which the remote mediaguidance application determines whether or not there are any otherchannels in the list (that was generated at step 1112) that have notbeen processed through step 1116. When there is a channel in the listthat still needs to be processed through step 1116, process 1100 returnsto step 1116 and another channel from the list is selected. When all ofthe channels in the list have been processed through step 1116, process1100 proceeds to step 1126, at which the remote media guidanceapplication compiles the subscription data generated in steps 1120and/or 1122. The compiled subscription data may then be used in process800. Process 1100 ends at step 1128.

FIG. 12 shows process 1200, which is an illustrative example of howchannel data may be obtained in step 1114 of process 1100. Process 1200begins at step 1202 and is preferably executed by a target mediaguidance application in response to the request generated in step 1108.

In step 1204, the target device is instructed to tune to the firstchannel in the list (which was generated in step 1112 of FIG. 11). Thetarget media guidance application may receive the instruction to tunefrom, for example, the remote media guidance application or a user inputinterface (such as a remote control or any other input interface devicediscussed above in connection with FIG. 6). In some embodiments, whenthe target media guidance application tunes the target device, it mayappear to the user that the target device is conducting an automaticscan of the entire channel line-up or a subset thereof. Systems andmethods for automatically scanning a subset of channels are discussed incommonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/412,549, filedApr. 27, 2006.

In the embodiments that do not automatically change the channel, aprompt may be displayed that asks the user to tune to the channel withan interface device. In other embodiments, in response to the remotemedia guidance application instructing the target device to tune to achannel, the target device may monitor which channels the user tunes toduring the normal course of using the target device. In yet otherembodiments, rather than instructing the target device to tune to achannel, the remote media guidance application may instruct the targetmedia guidance application to monitor and record which channels the usertunes to when the target device is ON.

Next in process 1200 is step 1206, at which the target media guidanceapplication determines whether or not a user can view the channel withthe target device. The determination may be based on a user input orsystem input. When the user cannot view the channel with the targetdevice, the target media guidance application generates channel data instep 1208 that indicates that the user cannot use the target device toview programming on the channel. When the user can view the channel(because, e.g., the target device descrambles the channel, the targetmedia guidance application is able to tune to the channel, etc.), thetarget media guidance application generates channel data in step 1210that indicates that the user can use the target device to viewprogramming on the channel.

At step 1212, the target media guidance application determines whetheror not the channel is the last channel in the list. When the targetmedia guidance application determines that there are more channels inthe list that have not been processed through step 1206, process 1200returns to step 1204.

When the channel is the last channel in the list, process 1200 advancesto step 1214 and the channel data from steps 1208 and/or 1210 arecompiled together. The compiled channel data may then be used in process1100 of FIG. 11. Process 1200 ends at step 1216.

FIG. 13 shows process 1300, which is a second illustrative example ofhow channel data may be obtained in step 1114 of process 1100. Process1300 begins at step 1302 and is preferably executed by a remote mediaguidance application. In some embodiments, any or all of steps 1304-1318may be executed by the target media guidance application.

In step 1304, the remote media guidance application prompts the user asto whether or not the user may view with the target device each of thechannels in the list (which was generated at step 112 of FIG. 11). Thisstep may be completed by, for example, providing the user a displaysimilar to or the same as display 400 of FIG. 4.

Next in process 1300 is step 1306, at which the remote media guidanceapplication receives a user input in response to the prompt or promptspresented to the user in step 1304.

At step 1308, the remote media guidance application uses the userinput(s) to determine whether or not the user can view each channel withthe target device. For each channel that the remote media guidanceapplication determines that the user cannot view with the target device,the remote media guidance application generates channel data in step1310 that indicates that the user cannot use the target device to viewprogramming on the channel. When the user can view programming on thechannel, the target media guidance application generates channel data instep 1312 that indicates that the user can use the target device to viewprogramming on the channel.

In step 1314, the remote media guidance application determines whetheror not the channel is the last channel in the list. When the remotemedia guidance application determines that there are more channels inthe list that have not been processed through step 1306, process 1300returns to step 1304. When the channel is the last channel in the list,process 1300 advances to step 1316 and the channel data from steps 1310and/or 1312 are compiled together. Process 1300 ends at step 1316.

FIG. 14 shows an illustrative embodiment of subscription data structure1400. Subscription data structure 1400 may include field 1402 thatincludes an identifier for the user equipment device or devices that areassociated with the subscription data included in fields 1404 and 1406.The identifier included in field 1402 can preferably be used to locatethe user equipment device that is targeted by a remote media guidanceapplication. Field 1402, like any other field of any data structurediscussed herein, may be organized in the form of a linked list, anarray, a table, or any other suitable organization scheme. The userequipment identifier included in field 1402 may be, for example, one ormore of a device identification number, a telephone number (land-line ormobile), an address (physical or electronic), device serial number,account number, or anything else that may be used to identify the userequipment device or devices (such as the identifying data discussed inconnection with FIG. 3).

Subscription data structure 1400 may also include fields 1404 and 1406.Field 1404 may include a unique identifier for a particular package ofprogramming or premium service that may be received by the userequipment device or devices associated with field 1402. Field 1406preferably includes an indicator as to whether or not the user equipmentdevice or devices identified in field 1402 are authorized to allow auser to access the package of programming or premium service identifiedin field 1404. For example, an account number associated with usertelevision equipment 702 (of FIG. 7) may be included in field 1402, dataidentifying a premium service or package of programming may be includedin field 1404, and field 1406 may indicate that user televisionequipment 702 is authorized to allow a user to view the premium serviceor package of programming.

FIG. 15 shows an illustrative embodiment of channel data structure 1500.Channel data structure 1500 may include field 1502, which issubstantially similar to or the same as field 1402 discussed above.Preferably, field 1502 includes an identifier for the user equipmentdevice or devices that are associated with the channel data included infields 1504 and 1506. The identifier included in field 1502 canpreferably be used to populate field 1402 when subscription datastructure 1400 is generated using channel data structure 1500 (asdiscussed in connection with FIG. 11).

Channel data structure 1500 may also include fields 1504 and 1506. Field1504 may include a unique identifier for a particular channel that maybe used to deliver programming to the user equipment device or devicesassociated with field 1502. Field 1506 preferably includes an indicatoras to whether or not the user equipment device or device(s) included infield 1502 is authorized to allow a user to access the channelidentified in field 1504. For example, a serial number associated withuser television equipment 702 may be included in field 1502, dataidentifying the channel number 300 may be included in field 1504, andfield 1506 may indicate that user television equipment 702 is authorizedto allow a user to view channel number 300.

FIG. 16 shows an illustrative embodiment of package data structure 1600.Package data structure 1600 may include field 1602, which preferablyincludes a unique identifier for a source device that providesprogramming in accordance with the package data included in fields 1604and 1606. The identifier included in field 1602 may be used to identify,for example, the type of media content source (e.g., satellitetelevision, broadcast television, mobile, online, etc.), the geographiclocation that media content source serves, etc.

Package data structure 1600 may also include fields 1604 and 1606. Field1604 may include a unique identifier for a particular package ofprogramming that may be delivered by the source device associated withfield 1602. The identifier included in field 1604 can preferably be usedto populate field 1404 when subscription data structure 1400 isgenerated using package data structure 1600 (as discussed in connectionwith FIG. 11). Field 1606 preferably includes an indicator or list ofindicators that specifies which channels are associated with the packageof programming identified in field 1604 as provided by the media contentsource identified in field 1602. For example, headend identificationdata associated with media content source 716 (of FIG. 7) may beincluded in field 1602, data identifying the premium package ofprogramming may be included in field 1604, and field 1606 may indicatethat user television equipment 702 is authorized to allow a user to viewthe HBO package of programming.

One skilled in the art would appreciate that there may be additionaluses of the present inventions that are discussed herein withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention. For example, subscriptiondata may be generated using multiple approaches (using, e.g., processes900, 1000 and 1100) to determine whether or not the target device isoperating correctly and allowing the user to view all of the packages ofprogramming and premium services the user subscribes to. When differentapproaches generate different subscription data for the same targetdevice, a media guidance application may notify the user and/orappropriate system manager (of, e.g., media content source 716, mediaguidance data source 718, etc.) of the fault and, in some instances,provide a specific error code.

The above disclosure is meant to be exemplary and not limiting. Only theclaims that follow are meant to set bounds as to what the presentinvention includes.

1. A method of using a remote media guidance application, the methodcomprising: establishing a communications path between the remote mediaguidance application and television equipment, wherein the televisionequipment provides packages of television programming to users;requesting, from the remote media guidance application, thatsubscription data be provided from the television equipment to theremote media guidance application, wherein the subscription dataindicates television programming a user is authorized to access;receiving the subscription data using the remote media guidanceapplication; and enabling the remote media guidance application toutilize the subscription data to determine whether the televisionequipment is authorized to provide a particular package of televisionprogramming to be viewed by the user.
 2. The method of claim 1 furthercomprising using a television program guidance application to generatethe subscription data in response to requesting that the subscriptiondata be provided from the television equipment to the remote mediaguidance application, wherein the television program guidanceapplication is implemented on the television equipment.
 3. The method ofclaim 1, wherein: requesting that the subscription data be provided fromthe television equipment to the remote media guidance application,further comprises: instructing the television equipment to tune to oneor more channels associated with the packages of television programming;and determining whether the television equipment allows the one or morechannels to be viewed by the user; and further comprising: in responseto requesting that the subscription data be provided from the televisionequipment to the remote media guidance application, generating thesubscription data.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein: requesting thatthe subscription data be provided from the television equipment to theremote media guidance application, further comprises: instructing thetelevision equipment to prompt the user to tune to one or more channelsassociated with each of the packages of television programming; andinstructing the television equipment to receive a user indication as towhether each of the one or more channels are viewable by the user; andin response to requesting that the subscription data be provided fromthe television equipment to the remote media guidance application,generating the subscription data based on whether each of the one ormore channels are viewable by the user.
 5. The method of claim 1 furthercomprising: determining that the television equipment allows theparticular package to be viewed by the user; and in response todetermining that the television equipment allows the particular packageto be viewed by the user, displaying an advertisement for televisionprogramming associated with the particular package.
 6. The method ofclaim 5 further comprising using the remote media guidance applicationto display the advertisement.
 7. The method of claim 1 furthercomprising: determining that the television equipment does not allow theparticular package to be viewed by the user; and in response todetermining that the television equipment does not allow the particularpackage to be viewed by the user, displaying a program guide that omitsone or more channels that are associated with the particular package. 8.The method of claim 7 further comprising using the remote media guidanceapplication to display the program guide and, wherein the program guideis an online program guide.
 9. The method of claim 7 further comprisingusing the remote media guidance application to display the program guideand, wherein the program guide is a mobile program guide.
 10. The methodof claim 1 further comprising: determining that the television equipmentdoes not allow the particular package to be viewed by the user; and inresponse to determining that the television equipment does not allow theparticular package to be viewed by the user, displaying a program guidethat identifies one or more channels as being associated with theparticular package that is not viewable by the user.
 11. The method ofclaim 1 further comprising: determining that the television equipmentdoes not allow the particular package to be viewed by the user; and inresponse to determining that the television equipment does not allow theparticular package to be viewed by the user, displaying an advertisementfor television programming associated with the particular package. 12.The method of claim 1 further comprising: determining that thetelevision equipment does not allow the particular package to be viewedby the user; and in response to determining that the televisionequipment does not allow the particular package to be viewed by theuser, displaying an advertisement for the particular package.
 13. Themethod of claim 1 further comprising: determining that the televisionequipment does not allow the particular package to be viewed by theuser; and in response to determining that the television equipment doesnot allow the particular package to be viewed by the user, identifyingthat a fault exists that is causing the particular package to be notviewable.
 14. The method of claim 1, wherein the television equipment isuser television equipment.
 15. The method of claim 1, wherein thetelevision equipment is television distribution equipment.
 16. A methodof using a remote media guidance application, the method comprising:establishing a communications path between the remote media guidanceapplication and a source device, wherein the source device storespackage data associated with television equipment; requesting that thepackage data be provided from the source device to the remote mediaguidance application; instructing the television equipment to tune toone or more channels associated with the package data; generatingchannel data by determining whether a user may use the televisionequipment to access each of the one or more channels; and generatingsubscription data using the channel data and the package data, whereinthe subscription data indicates which packages of programming andpremium services the television equipment is authorized to allow theuser to view.
 17. The method of claim 16 further comprising using atelevision program guidance application to generate the subscriptiondata in response to a request from the remote media guidanceapplication, wherein the television program guidance application isimplemented on the television equipment.
 18. A system for using a remotemedia guidance application, comprising: television equipment thatprovides packages of television programming to users; and a remotedevice comprising circuitry on which the remote media guidanceapplication is implemented, wherein the remote media guidanceapplication is configured to: establish a communications path with thetelevision equipment; request subscription data indicating televisionprogramming a user is authorized to access from the televisionequipment; receive the subscription data from the television equipment;and utilize the subscription data to determine whether the televisionequipment allows the a particular package to be viewed by the user. 19.The system of claim 18, wherein a television program guidanceapplication is implemented on the television equipment and, wherein thetelevision program guidance application is configured to generate thesubscription data in response to the request for the subscription datafrom the remote media guidance application.
 20. The system of claim 18,wherein the remote media guidance application is further configured to:instruct the television equipment to tune to one or more channelsassociated with the packages of television programming; determinewhether the television equipment allows the one or more channels to beviewed by the user; and generate the subscription data.
 21. The systemof claim 18, wherein the remote media guidance application is furtherconfigured to: instruct the television equipment to prompt the user totune to one or more channels associated with each of the packages oftelevision programming; instruct the television equipment to receive auser indication as to whether each of the one or more channels areviewable by the user; and generate the subscription data based onwhether each of the one or more channels are viewable by the user. 22.The system of claim 18, wherein the remote media guidance application isfurther configured to display an advertisement for televisionprogramming associated with the particular package, in response todetermining that the television equipment allows the particular packageto be viewed by the user.
 23. The system of claim 18, wherein the remotemedia guidance application is further configured to display a programguide that omits one or more channels that are associated with theparticular package, in response to determining that the televisionequipment does not allow the particular package to be viewed by theuser.
 24. The system of claim 18, wherein the remote media guidanceapplication is further configured to display a program guide and whereinthe program guide is an online program guide.
 25. The system of claim18, wherein the remote media guidance application is further configuredto display a program guide and wherein the program guide is a mobileprogram guide.
 26. The system of claim 18, wherein the remote mediaguidance application is further configured to display a program guidethat identifies one or more channels as being associated with theparticular package that is not viewable by the user, in response todetermining that the television equipment does not allow the particularpackage to be viewed by the user.
 27. The system of claim 18, whereinthe remote media guidance application is further configured to displayan advertisement for television programming associated with theparticular package, in response to determining that the televisionequipment does not allow the particular package to be viewed by theuser.
 28. The system of claim 18, wherein the remote media guidanceapplication is further configured to display an advertisement for theparticular package, in response to determining that the televisionequipment does not allow the particular package to be viewed by theuser.
 29. The system of claim 18, wherein the remote media guidanceapplication is further configured to identify that a fault exists thatis causing the particular package to be not viewable, in response todetermining that the television equipment does not allow the particularpackage to be viewed by the user.
 30. The system of claim 18, whereinthe television equipment is user television equipment.
 31. The system ofclaim 18, wherein the television equipment is television distributionequipment.
 32. A system for using a remote media guidance application,comprising: television equipment that provides packages of televisionprogramming and premium services to users; a source device that can beaccessed via the internet and stores package data associated with thetelevision equipment; and a remote device comprising circuitry on whichthe remote media guidance application is implemented, wherein the remotemedia guidance application is configured to: establish a communicationspath with the source device; request the package data from the sourcedevice; instruct the television equipment to tune to one or morechannels associated with the package data; generate channel data bydetermining whether a user of the television equipment can access eachof the one or more channels associated with the package data; andgenerate subscription data using the channel data and the package data,wherein the subscription data indicates what packages of televisionprogramming and premium services the television equipment is authorizedto allow the user to view.
 33. The system of claim 32, wherein atelevision program guidance application is implemented on the televisionequipment and, wherein the television program guidance application isconfigured to generate the subscription data in response to a requestfor the subscription data from the remote media guidance application.